Here’s Exactly How to Get Into Ivy League Grad School with Average GPA

“If you try to do your best there is no failure”

– Mike farrell –

Getting into Ivy League grad school is well known to be very competitive. The family of Harvard - Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Columbia, Yale, Princeton, and Pennsylvania - is well known from generation to generation to be very difficult to get into. The myth is that you need to have the perfect 4.0 GPA to get into Ivy League grad school. This often puts people off to apply for grad school in one of the eight Ivy League schools.

The thing is, not many people know that you don’t need the perfect 4.0 GPA to get into Ivy League grad school. The average acceptance students for grad school in Ivy League is 3.7 GPA, not 4.0! Despite this still categorized very high, some people can get into Ivy League grad school with average GPA (3.2–3.6). Do you want to know how? Here’s exactly what they do to get into Ivy League grad school with average GPA!

#Apply Early

Many people don’t know this but if you apply early, you get a better chance to get into the school. Why? Because it shows that you are serious about the application and that your application is your priority. So remember to apply as early as possible. Early admissions will put your application one step ahead of everyone’s else.

#Explain why you are applying for the grad school

This is the part where many people tend to ignore. Explaining why grad school is important can put you in a special position. For instance, you can say that your grad school is important because you want to find a cure for a decease, and the only way you can achieve this is by going to grad school. Other than explaining why your degree is important, you also need to explain why you choose the university you’re applying to.

Don’t just say you’re applying to this school because you want to get into Ivy League school, - you need a personal reason why this university is important to you. For instance, if the reason you’re applying for grad school is that you want to find a cure for a decease, explain why this particular university will support your research. For example, you want to apply for a grad school in this particular university because the university has been developing research on the area of your interest.

#Do not ignore the ‘optional’ section on the application form

When you fill out grad school application form, there will be ‘optional’ section on the form. Make sure that you don’t ignore this. Remember you need to stand out from the crowd, hence, you need to be one step ahead of everyone’s else. Filling out the ‘optional’ section will put you above other applicants that choose to ignore the section.

#Strong recommendation letter

Make sure that whoever is going to give you a recommendation letter, - will be someone who knows you very well (academically or professionally). Don’t choose lecturers that didn’t even know you exist in the class. Choose someone that has engaged with you. This can be lecturers that know you very well in lectures, lecturers that have engaged in academic debates with you, or even better, lecturers that have worked with you on a research project. With this, the person who writes your recommendation letter can write in details on why you are a strong candidate for the school.

#GRE Score (160–170)

Last but not least, is the GRE score. This is the part where you show the grad admissions that you are intellectually compatible to get into the grad school. Many people would say that GRE is what balance your GPA. For instance, if you have a GPA 3.3, make sure that you score at least 165 on GRE. With this, your high GRE score will balance your average GPA. I have heard many people get into top grad school with an average GPA and high GRE score. I would recommend preparing the GRE a year in advance and two years before you plan to apply for the grad school. 

Getting a high GRE score is difficult but not impossible. Many people manage to get over 160. What good about GRE is that you can take the test multiple times, and your grad admissions will not aware of this. So if you fail the first test, you can always undertake another test, until you get 160. This is why I said it’s important to prepare a year in advance, to give time in case the first test wasn’t successful. Once you manage to get 160 or above, then you can send you last test score (160 or above) to the grad admissions, and they will only know your last test score (which is the one with 160 or above). The test results also last 5 years so you do not need to worry about it expires date.